Mascara applicator with fan tip

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for applying mascara includes a brush formed from a twisted wire core connected to a handle, with a first plurality of bristles extending radially from the core along a substantial portion thereof. The end of the wire core is bent, in some cases, approximately one hundred and eighty degrees, such that a group of bristles fan out from the distal end of the brush, preferably along a plane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core. The bent portion of the core includes between one and eight, and preferably one and four, turns of the twisted wire.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an applicator for cosmetic products.More specifically, the invention relates to a mascara brush with a fantip that facilitates both general and precise application of mascara.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The application of cosmetics to enhance one's appearance is an age-oldpractice. Accordingly, different kinds of cosmetics have been developedfor enhancing particular physical features, such as mascara, which isused to lengthen, thicken, and color one's eyelashes. Typically, thesekinds of liquid-type cosmetics are applied with a brush.

Mascara brushes are generally well known in the art. Typically, theycomprise a series of bristles connected to an applicator rod, whichextends from the underside of a bottle cap. When not in use, the rod andbristles are inserted into an opening in a bottle containing themascara, and the cap closes the bottle. There is usually a wiper in theneck of the bottle, through which the rod extends when the bottle isclosed, such that the bristles are immersed in the mascara.

The mascara brush must perform several functions. First, the brush mustaccumulate mascara within the bottle, and carry the mascara through thewiper, which removes the excess mascara from the bristles. The mascarabrush must then apply the mascara to the eyelashes, and preferably, becapable of curling or lifting the eyelashes. The mascara brush must alsobe capable of combing and separating the eyelashes, as well as spreadingthe mascara relatively evenly thereon. In all these functions, the brushis desirably comfortable for the consumer to use.

A typical mascara brush for achieving these various functions comprisesa plurality of bristles mounted to a helically twisted wire. Suchtwisted wire brushes conventionally are manufactured by disposing aplurality of individual lengths of bristles transverse to and betweensubstantially parallel, slightly spaced-apart thin metal wire lengths,such that the wire lengths generally bisect the filament lengths attheir midpoints. Most typically, the parallel wire lengths comprise twosubstantially equal leg segments formed from bending a single length ofwire into a U-shaped configuration. The wire lengths are then twistedtogether to form a helical core, causing the bristles disposed betweenthe wires to be clamped therebetween at about their midpoints. In thistwisting and clamping, the segments of the bristles on either side ofthe clamped midpoint are caused to flare radially outward from the coreand thereby form an elongate bristle brush portion of generally circularcross-section. Examples of this process are described, for instance, inU.S. Pat. No. 6,481,445 to Miraglia and U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,456 toHartel.

Generally, a large number of these radially-projecting bristles spiralalong the length of the wire, thereby facilitating the collection andtransfer of a substantial amount of mascara from the bottle to theeyelashes. Additionally, mascara is typically highly viscous, and thus,tends to clump when applied to eyelashes. These clumps of mascara areusually combed out as a finishing step during the application process,thereby requiring a relatively open bristle array in order to create a“comb-like” brush that is well suited for combing out the clumps andproperly separating the lashes. However, the conventional arrangement ofmany projecting bristles along the length of the brush can make itdifficult to perform more precise applications, such as may be requiredin order to apply mascara to the smaller, bottom lashes, in order toreach the corners of the lashes, and to perform general touch-up.

What is desired, therefore, is a mascara brush having a twisted wirestem and outwardly extending bristles that can collect and carry asatisfactory amount of mascara without repeated reintroductions of thebrush into the mascara bottle. What is also desired is a mascara brushthat provides good combing and lash-lengthening effects. What is furtherdesired is a mascara brush with the above features that facilitatesprecise application of the mascara where necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide amascara brush with enough bristle surface area to collect a large amountof mascara from a bottle and carry it to one's eyelashes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mascarabrush with enough bristle rows along the length of the brush to providean adequate combing ability.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a mascarabrush that enables one to apply mascara to small and hard to reach partsof one's eyelashes.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mascarabrush that enables one to precisely touch-up the mascara.

In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to achieve atleast some of the objects and advantages listed, the invention comprisesa method for applying mascara, including providing a mascara containerhaving mascara therein, forming a wire into approximately a U-shapehaving two leg segments, positioning a plurality of bristles between thetwo leg segments of the U-shaped wire, twisting the wire to produce ahelical wire core having a plurality of bristles extending radiallytherefrom, bending an end of the wire core to produce a fan of bristlesfanning out therefrom, and inserting the wire core into the mascaracontainer to collect mascara.

In some of these embodiments, the approximately U-shaped wire has a basesegment, and the step of twisting the wire comprises forming the basesegment into a wire loop at the distal end of the brush.

In another embodiment, the invention comprises a method for applyingmascara, including the steps of providing a mascara brush comprising atwisted wire core having a plurality of bristles extending radiallytherefrom and a distal end, bending the distal end of the brush toproduce a fan of bristles fanning out therefrom, and collecting mascaraon the plurality of bristles.

In yet another embodiment, the invention comprises a mascara applicator,including a container cap for closing a mascara bottle, an elongatedmember extending from the cap, the member having a core and a distalend, a first plurality of bristles radially extending from the core, anda second plurality of bristles fanning out from the distal end of theelongated member.

In still another embodiment, the invention comprises a mascaraapplicator, including a handle, and a twisted wire core connected to thehandle, the wire core having a first plurality of bristles extendingradially therefrom, a longitudinal axis, and a distal end, where thedistal end of the core is bent relative to the longitudinal axis suchthat a second plurality of bristles fan out from the distal end of thecore.

In certain embodiments, the second plurality of bristles fan out along aplane substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core.Preferably, the distal end of the core is bent approximately one hundredand eighty degrees so that the second plurality of bristles fan outalong an arc. In some of these embodiments, the bent portion of the corecomprises between one to eight, and more preferably, one to four turnsof the twisted wire core.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional view of mascara container andbrush in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wire and bristles that form thebrush of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the brush of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The basic components of one embodiment of a mascara applicator inaccordance with the invention are illustrated in FIG. 1. As used in thedescription, the terms “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” “over,”“under,” “above,” “beneath,” “on top,” “underneath,” “up,” “down,”“upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “back,” “forward” and “backward”refer to the objects referenced when in the orientation illustrated inthe drawings, which orientation is not necessary for achieving theobjects of the invention.

A mascara applicator brush 10 comprises a handle end 12 and a brush end14. The brush 10 includes an elongated member comprising a central,twisted wire core 18 with a longitudinal axis 20, and a helical array ofregularly disposed bristles 24 retained by the twisted wire core 18 inthe manner further described below. The core 18 is connected to a rod26, which is, in turn, connected to a cap 28 for a mascara bottle 30.The brush end is inserted through an opening 32 in the bottle 30, past awiper 34, in order to load mascara on the bristles 24.

The bristles 24 are usually made by cutting short segments from spoolsof filaments. The filaments are formed from nylon or polyester, oranother suitable material. The filaments will typically be circularsolids in cross-section, but alternatively, may have non-circularcross-sectional shapes, such as ovals, square, rectangular, or polygons(including hexagons), or the bristles may have voids therein, and thus,the term “diameter” as used herein to refer to “bristle diameter” isintended to mean the maximum distance between any of the possibleopposite positions on the outer surface of a bristle filament.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the wire core 18 is made by forming wire intoa “U” shape having leg segments 40 and 42 and a tip 44. The plurality ofbristles 24 are placed between the leg segments 40 and 42, and these legsegments are then twisted around each other to clamp the bristles 24therebetween at approximately the midpoints of the bristles 24. As aresult of this twisting and clamping, the ends of the bristles 24 extendradially from the wire core 18 about the longitudinal axis 20 in ahelical or spiral manner. Accordingly, a first plurality of bristles 52extends along a substantial portion of the wire core 18, therebyproviding a sufficient surface area for transporting and applying largeamounts of mascara. After the bristles 24 are mounted to the wire core18, the bristles 24 can be trimmed so that the brush 10 has any desiredshape, such as, for example, cylindrical, tapered, conical, curved, etc.If desired, the ends of the bristles 24 may be processed by grinding,heating, or other techniques.

Typically, the wire of the twisted wire core 18 has a diameter of about0.028 inch, and the core 18 has a pitch of about 0.04-0.10 inch to about0.250 inch. The pitch P is the linear distance along the axis 20 oftwisted wire core 18 from the center 60 of a wire segment to the center62 of that wire segment 40 after it has twisted through 360 degrees.

Typically, the rod 26 may have a diameter in the range of about 0.065inch to 0.250 inch, and more specifically, about 0.075 inch to 0.125inch. As shown in FIG. 3, the twisted wire core 18 has a first end 45that can be attached to rod 26.

The bristle density per turn may be selected from a range of betweenabout 10-65 bristles per turn. The preferred bristle density will bedependent on the bristle diameter, and, to a degree, on the hardness ofthe polymer used in making the bristles. The preferred bristle diameterwill range between 0.003 inch and 0.012 inch, most preferably about0.004 to 0.006 inch.

In the preferred embodiment there are between 18-22 rows of bristlesthat are twisted into the wire core 18. The section of the wire core 18containing the bristles preferably comprises about 20-28 turns, mostpreferably about 24 turns.

The end section 46 of the twisted wire core 18 is bent over onto itself,which results in a fan tip section 54 comprising a plurality of bristlesfanning out from the end section 46. The fan tip section 54, which isseparate and angularly offset from the rest of the bristles extendingalong the length of the twisted wire core 18, should enable the user toeasily perform precise application of the mascara.

In certain advantageous embodiments, the wire is bent approximately onehundred and eighty degrees, and the end section 46 includes between oneto eight turns of the wire core 18, and most preferably the end section46 includes between one to four turns of the twisted wire core 18between the bending point and the bent end 48 of end section 46

The bent over end section 46 of the wire core 18 creates a fan tipsection at the distal end of the brush 10. The fan tip section 54preferably defines a 180 degree arc extending in a plane which isparallel to the axis of the wire core 18. However, the bent over section46 may be bent at other angles so that the fan tip section 54 extends inother directions somewhere between and including planes which extendparallel to, and perpendicular to, the longitudinal axis of the brush10. The fan tip section may also be somewhat less than a 180 degree arc.

It should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative and notlimiting, and that obvious modifications may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly,reference should be made primarily to the accompanying claims, ratherthan the foregoing specification, to determine the scope of theinvention.

1. A mascara package, comprising: a container; a mascara productcontained in said container; a cap for closing said container; aelongated member extending from said cap, said member having a core,said core having a distal end; a first plurality of bristles radiallyextending from said core; and a second plurality of bristles fanning outfrom the distal end of said elongated member.
 2. The mascara package ofclaim 1, wherein: the distal end of said core has a end section that isbent over onto itself.
 3. The mascara package of claim 2, wherein theend section is bent over about one hundred and eighty degrees.
 4. Themascara package of claim 3, wherein said core comprises one or moretwisted wires.
 5. The mascara package of claim 4, wherein said bentportion comprises between one and eight turns of said twisted wire. 6.The mascara package of claim 5, wherein said bent portion comprisesbetween one and four turns of said twisted wire.
 7. The mascara packageof claims 1, 2, or 3, claim 1, wherein: said core has a longitudinalaxis; and said second plurality of bristles fan out along a planesubstantially parallel to said axis.
 8. The mascara package of claim 1,wherein: said core has a longitudinal axis; and said second plurality ofbristles fan out along a plane extending between and including planeswhich extend parallel to, and perpendicular to, the said longitudinalaxis.
 9. A mascara package, comprising: a container; a mascara productcontained in said container; a cap for closing said container; a rodextending from said cap; a twisted wire core affixed to said rod, saidtwisted wire core retaining a first plurality of bristles which extendradially from said core and having a end section that is bent over; anda second plurality of bristles fanning out from a distal end of saidtwisted wire core.
 10. The mascara package of claim 9, wherein: saidtwisted wire core has a longitudinal axis; and said second plurality ofbristles fan out along a plane substantially parallel to said axis. 11.The mascara package of claim 10, wherein the end section is bent overabout one hundred and eighty degrees.
 12. The mascara package of claim9, wherein the second plurality of bristles fan out in a 180 degree arc.13. The mascara package of claim 9, wherein said bent portion comprisesbetween one and eight turns of said twisted wire.
 14. The mascarapackage of claim 13, wherein said bent portion comprises between one andfour turns of said twisted wire.
 15. The mascara package of claim 9,wherein: said twisted wire core has a longitudinal axis; and said secondplurality of bristles fan out along a plane extending between andincluding planes which extend parallel to, and perpendicular to, thesaid longitudinal axis.
 16. A method for applying mascara to eyelashes,the method comprising: providing a mascara container having mascaratherein; providing a mascara brush having a twisted wire core retaininga first plurality of bristles which extend radially from said core andhaving a end section that is bent over; and a second plurality ofbristles fanning out from a distal end of said twisted wire coreinserting the mascara brush into the mascara container to load mascaraon the mascara brush; applying mascara loaded onto the first pluralityof bristles to eyelashes; applying mascara loaded onto the secondplurality of bristles to eyelashes.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein:said twisted wire core has a longitudinal axis; and said secondplurality of bristles fan out along a plane substantially parallel tosaid axis.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the end section is bentover about one hundred and eighty degrees.
 19. The mascara package ofclaim 18, wherein the second plurality of bristles fan out in a 180degree arc.
 20. The mascara package of claim 16, wherein said bentportion comprises between one and eight turns of said twisted wire. 21.The mascara package of claim 20, wherein said bent portion comprisesbetween one and four turns of said twisted wire.
 22. A method ofmanufacturing a mascara package, comprising: forming a wire intoapproximately a U-shape having two leg segments; positioning a pluralityof bristles between the two leg segments of the U-shaped wire; twistingthe wire to produce a twisted wire core having a plurality of bristlesextending radially therefrom; bending an end of the twisted wire core toproduce a fan of bristles fanning out therefrom; and mounting thetwisted wire core to a rod and cap assembly; mounting the rod and capassembly to a mascara container.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein:the core has a longitudinal axis; and the step of bending an end of thecore comprises producing a fan of bristles fanning out along a planesubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, wherein the step of bending an end of the wire corecomprises bending the end approximately one hundred and eighty degrees.25. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of bending comprisesbending a portion of the core comprising between one and four turns. 26.The mascara package of claim 2 wherein: said core has a longitudinalaxis; and said second plurality of bristles fan out along a planesubstantially parallel to said axis.
 27. The mascara package of claim 3wherein: said core has a longitudinal axis; and said second plurality ofbristles fan out along a plane substantially parallel to said axis. 28.The mascara package of claim 2 wherein: said core has a longitudinalaxis; and said second plurality of bristles fan out along a planeextending between and including planes which extend parallel to, andperpendicular to, the said longitudinal axis.